Why Affiliate Marketing Is the Best Way to Start an Online Business

If you've educated yourself enough with the information available to us via the internet, then you should have realized by now that your pursuit of a career in the corporate ladder is futile at best. Basically, the idea is to start as an intern, then a regular employee, then move up to a supervisor and / or managerial position and finally up to the executive levels of the corporate business that you're in. Personally, I have nothing against this kind of aspiration as I too once dreamt of such things myself; however, the toll it takes to get to EXACTLY where you want to be could at least take 30 years; 20 if you're exceptionally good at it.

The problem is we all can not be exceptional and aside from the fierce competition in play, you'll also have to face the insurmountable amount of bureaucracy, racism, favoritism, gender inequalities and other negative things in order to literally move up the ladder . The trade-off is not an ideal payoff even from an optimistically appraised standpoint. Therefore I would advocate that you start your own business and the cheapest way to do it is by building an affiliate marketing blog or website.

Defining Affiliate Marketing

Affiliate marketing is an easy income-generating business method where you take the role of the promoter and help the manufacturers and sellers connect with the end consumers. It should be clear that if you take a passive or active role in this business, you are by no means the originator or creator of the products / services you promote. But you will get a small portion of the sales as compensation soonheless. It's basically a 3-way relationship between you, the seller and the customer.

What Affiliate Marketing is NOT

If you get an unsolicited email inviting you to join an affiliate network and it's asking for an upfront payment, then you definitely have to scrutinize them and find out whether or not they're scam or legit. Go to the Better Business Bureau (BBB) ​​and find out about the company, if you can not find any, then go to affiliate marketing forums and discussion boards. They would know a lot about these scam sites as news spreads fast in social media and forums. Another thing to look for is if these people are selling you unrated products or something that you will never be able to use, like the $ 350 "Secrets to Affiliate Marketing Success" book or some other catchy titles; although a few are genuine but they do not charge you that high.

The truth is you can learn basic affiliate marketing from top ranking websites and blogs. In fact, they can teach you more useful information than all those specialized books and DVDs that other people are selling. Becoming an affiliate is free when you sign up to affiliate marketing programs and the only thing that will really cost you money is web hosting, which is around $ 70 - $ 100 a year for your affiliate marketing blog. A few other expenses may include a unique website / blog logo (optional), your electric bill; hire a blog writer (optional because you can write the blogs yourself) and probably paid advertising to promote your website or blog (optional).

Types of Affiliate Marketing

What's interesting about affiliate marketing is that you can earn awards in more ways than most people think. Allow me to explain the 3 different types of affiliate marketing and how you can earn through them.

1. Unattached Affiliate Marketing - This type of affiliate marketing will not require too much work from you, you do not even have to setup an affiliate marketing blog like those for Amazon Affiliate Programs. This is more like a PPC marketing (pay-per-click) where you just show affiliate ads on sites that allow this kind of marketing and then get a commission for each click through that web users make on the ads.

2. Related Affiliate Marketing - This type of marketing is where you are required to have some level of involvement and this is where you create an affiliate marketing blog or website and always show affiliate links on almost all of your website / blog pages. You also earn a commission for each time a web user clicks through the affiliate links.

3. Involved Affiliate Marketing - This kind of marketing may require you to actually use the products / services before you write a review about them and you should be able to write a more comprehensive and honest reviews.

You can choose from these 3 types of affiliate marketing methods, but most affiliate marketing programs uses the Type 2 affiliate marketing, which has some level of involvement and online presence from your end.

Putting the Cogs and Wheels Together

Now that you have an idea of ​​what affiliate marketing is all about and what its common pitfalls are, you are ready to start your journey to financial freedom and a wealthy lifestyle! Affiliate marketing is just like any other type of business and you'll have to plan a strategy months or even years ahead before you begin, so I will give you the basic strategy of how to become an affiliate marketer, signing up for affiliate programs, setting up your affiliate marketing blog and all the other important details about it.

Steps to become an affiliate marketer:

1. Decide what niche topic you want to use for your blog or website. It's better to write reviews or general information about products / services that you're passionate about, because you will write better articles for them compared to those that you do not like. For instance, if you're mad about crochet or kids bikes, then that is the niche you should pick for your blog! Affiliate programs have a huge inventory of items for sale and they do include crochets and bicycles for a fact. If you're more of the business-minded individual and you think you can write just about on anything, then by all means pick the niche that's most profitable among the lot.

2. Create your website and purchase a cheap but reliable web hosting. You do not need a web designer to build a website or a blog. You can use WordPress, Weebly, Web.com, Blogger, eHost and others to do that. Using their user-friendly "click & drag" features you can create your blog / website in 5 - 10 minutes!

3. Learn basic SEO and use it on your blog or website. Search engine optimization or SEO is a very good marketing strategy to allow your website to be known through the entire internet or at least the majority of it. If your website is easier to find in search engines, then it is more convenient for people to visit it, and more visitors means more money for you.

4. Learn social media marketing to extend your presence online. In reality social media marketing or SMM is also a part of the grand scheme of SEO and without it, your SEO campaign would not be as successful as you'd expect it to be. There are literally billions of people hanging around the web on a daily basis and much of them are in social media sites. It would be a logical choice to get visitors there for your website and increase your income potential.

5. Learn about paid advertising and consider it deeply on whether you need to use it or not. Paid ads help because they target the right kind of people who are already looking for products that you promote. Meaning there is a good chance that they will buy. Would not you want them to buy products through your affiliate links? I would!

6. Start filling up your website with content. In case you plan to write boring and unimpressive blogs and articles, then I advise you to no longer continue in your pursuit of creating an affiliate marketing blog, because I promise you people will not want to read your blogs or visit your site. Write articles that will impress you first. This will let you know whether or not people will want to read about what you have to say. If you can find an extremely critical person to judge your writing, then that would be better as it will help you greatly improve on your writing style. Reader engagement is absolute in affiliate marketing. It will determine your income capacity, so do your best in writing content for your site above all else.

How you earn in affiliate marketing:

• The manufacturer / seller signs a partnership deal with the affiliate network or program and in turn, when you sign up with the affiliate network as an affiliate, the partner affiliate network will give you a small percentage share on every item you helped sold.

• You'll need to embed or display affiliate links on your website or affiliate marketing blog about the products you're promoting. The purpose of these links is to guide your blog readers to the seller's webpage (which is usually in the affiliate network's site) so that they can make purchases of the items they like.

• The percentage commission on each sale range from 1% - 10% (some give more than 10% but rarely) and this is how you generate income. For example, a web user happens by your blog about coffee machines and he / she read your blog review or informative article. The reader was impressed by your blog and decided to click on the affiliate link, then make a purchase of 1 coffee machine worth $ 350. If the affiliate network allowed 7% of that amount to be your commission, therefore your income for that sale alone will be $ 24.50.

• You may notice that $ 24.50 is a small amount and not enough to convince you to become an affiliate; however, if you were able to bring 10,000 visitors to your blog in the span of 30 days and about 4,382 people bought coffee machines for themselves, then your income for that particular month should be $ 107,359! If you're able to bring as much visitors to your website on a regular basis, then you can bet that your monthly income should be around these numbers. Now you can appreciate the value that SEO and SMM can do for your affiliate marketing business.

How Much can you Make?

The straight answer to this question is ... there is NO LIMIT to how much you can earn. The website called Pickmyshaver.com around October or November 2013 and then 8 months later its regular monthly income became $ 8,446! If it had continued as is it would earn over $ 50,000 a month by now, except that it was purchased in Flippa by an anonymous buyer for $ 60,100 around June 2014. That's just 1 website and I'm pretty sure on your best day you can manage 2 - 3 sites for affiliate marketing.

At this point I will let you use your imagination as to how much you can earn; or is it how hard you desire to earn. It's entirely up to you. I am confident that this article should help you get started in creating your own affiliate marketing blog and earn not just money, but your freedom from the everyday worries of life. Once you start earning over $ 8,000 a month, then you can buy more time to spend it with the people that matters to you most - your family. I wish you all the best and do not forget to drop a comment below and tell me how affiliate marketing has changed your life like it has changed mine.

Mobilising Games to Go Global: Internationalisation and Localisation

The days of the Cold War are long past and have been replaced by the hotter topic of global warming. 'Colonisation' and 'Super-power' may actually have become dirty words in these days when global harmony and fair play are the mantras for our planet's survival.

However, in the last few years, there has been a new power entity slowly but steadily rising on the horizon: Enter the APP Store Super Power!

In 2014, Japan and South Korea made huge strides and surpassed the USA by revenue on Google Play. Reports put China at #3 by revenue on the Apple App store. South East Asia is a HUGE emerging market- Indonesia, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, the Philippines, and Vietnam account for almost all the game revenue in this area of the planet.

What is the takeaway from all this?





1. Language is no barrier.





2. The appeal of gaming and mobile gaming is a worldwide phenomenon.





3. Big bucks are involved and this means cutthroat competition and planning in minute detail to drive successful apps and games.





4. Game and app internationalization and localisation drive mobility in apps and games.





5. Not least of all, the quest of humans for easy entertainment is now quite literally in the palms of the hands- holding the mobile phone. Never has the opposable thumb been put to such vigorous use.

The game must go on!

A stationary stone gathers moss

The driving force behind any business is profit. The gaming world is no different. This is a highly competitive world and the gaming market is killer. To survive, evolve, and bring home the bacon, apps and games need not just to be entertaining to the boy-next-door: they need to capture new platforms and markets. And they need to be fast and furious about it or fall by the wayside.

How can they do this?

Internationalistion and localisation





This two-step process is what enables a game to adapt to different regional and linguistic cultures. It must include:





Reviewing the language and regional settings which will determine which localisation is used as well as the date, time, and number formats.





Adapting the user interface





The code must handle multi-language text





Locale (not the language) settings must drive data formatting as multiple countries might use the same language, as also the same individual travelling across different countries.





User interface must be 'mirrored' while using right to left languages; the only exception here would probably be phone numbers.





It is also necessary to test the internationalized app or game to detect auto-layout problems and strings that are not part of the internationalization-localisation process.

Enjoyment MUST be stress-free





Gaming is for enjoyment; the gamer cannot be subjected to a confusing, frustrating experience. There is no place, either, for being culturally and politically improper or downright offensive. Game localisation must also ensure that the translated, internationalized, localized version be faithful to the original.

Many gamers take their gaming very seriously. Game localisation, including those on mobile platforms (iOS localisation or Android), should enable players to immerse themselves completely. The whole enjoyment in gaming is to transport the player to a world of fantasy more appealing than reality, where lives can be replenished in battles with strange creatures in exotic lands unknown! Nothing should interrupt this 'willing suspension of disbelief.'

Localisation must be from the word GO





Game localisation cannot be an afterthought and game developers would benefit from shedding the 'let's see' attitude. Successful developers have understood that video game localisation is an integral part of the development cycle along with coding, designing, or writing. In the very early stages when games were designed and played on limited and limiting platforms, this 'afterthought status' might have been acceptable. But with the proliferation of mobile technology, and the increasing demand for games across linguistic, cultural and geographical borders, video game localisation has come into its own.

Localisation- NOT translation





It must be amply clear by now that game internationalisation and localisation is not just about language. It encompasses cultural symbols, costumes, ethos, environment... everything that goes up to make civilisations, in fact!

There are many pitfalls to be avoided:

Concerns of piracy and the importance of timely capturing of markets may drive translations on incomplete games. Context must be clear while translating text whatever the stage of game development. The complete picture should be kept in mind.

Localisation must be a consideration early in game development as cultural concepts must be clear from Day 1. For example: scantily clad female characters may be an issue in some countries. If this is not considered early in the design cycle, it could turn into a costly, untreatable headache when the game has to move to more socially conservative markets.

Games must evolve with current events. Consider the example of how a spate of pedophilia cases in Belgium discouraged the use of the word 'pedometer' in a game on weight-loss because of the negative connotation such a prefix had.

Separate text files make the game moddable and the translated versions can be pasted on the localized version.

A text-freeze or cut-off date for text changes is a very good idea to control translation costs and keep game development on schedule.

Be aware of cultural issues, taboos and sensitivities from the very beginning.

Accents are important for voice overs. A cowboy with a Texan twang is ludicrous in a video game meant for the Chinese market.

Who does the localisation?





Game developers pour millions into game development. So, it makes no sense to cut corners when it comes to video game localisation to make inroads into new markets.

Cheap translations aimed at cost control may result in a complete flop show and make the developer an international laughing stock.

Whether it is artwork, translation, marketing, packaging, or bridging the cultural gap, it is very skilled work which is the domain of trained and talented professionals.

Time is of the absolute essence to capture the mood of markets.

Discretion and trust are absolutely necessary to combat the evil threat of piracy which looms large on intellectual property.

How-To Get Started With Organic Gardening

How-To Basics of getting started with Organic Gardening.





No matter whether you are an experienced organic gardener or you have simply decided that you would like to become more self-reliant by growing some of your own food, planting a garden requires planning. A properly planned and planted organic garden will naturally resist disease, deter pests, and be healthy and productive. With the spring planting season fast approaching, winter is the ideal time to get started.

Set Goals





What do you want to do with your plot of earth this season? Begin planning by setting goals. Grab your garden map, a pencil, your gardening guide, catalogs, and your thinking cap. List the areas of your yard and garden separately (i.e. lawn, vegetable patch, flower garden), and, keeping in mind the size and conditions of your site, brainstorm! Are you planning a garden for the first time? Do you want to expand your existing garden? Did you have pest or disease problems last year that you're hoping to prevent this year? What map? To create a map of your yard or garden, measure the dimensions of your site as a whole, and then the individual dimensions of your vegetable patch, flowerbeds, and lawn. It's easiest to draw your map to scale on a sheet of graph paper. These measurements will be necessary later, when you are determining how much of a plant or seeds to buy. Once the map is drawn, write in any information you know about soil characteristics, drainage, environmental conditions (sunny, shady, windy), and the names of trees and perennial plants that already exist. Your map will let you know exactly what you have to work with, and will give you a realistic idea of problems that need attention or features you'd like to change or add.

Gardening 101





It is important to understand the magnitude of your project before you begin. Getting the background information necessary to fulfill your goals may take an hour or a week, depending upon your level of experience and how involved you plan to get. Consulting your garden guidebook is a great way to begin - I suggest Warren Schultz's The Organic Suburbanite, The New Organic Grower by Eliot Coleman, Rodale's Chemical-Free Yard & Garden, or The Handy Garden Answer Book by Karen Troshynski-Thomas. You can also go to your local library and investigate their resources or contact your local garden club for their suggestions. As you research, write down how long each project will take, what tools you will need, and the approximate cost of everything you will need. This information will be invaluable when you make up your shopping list and schedule of activities. Scheduling and Organization. A schedule of activities lists what you hope to accomplish in what time frame. It will help keep you on track. It is important to be realistic about what you are capable of.

This is not a project that can be taken on alone in a week. Staggering your major tasks over time will make them easier to accomplish and save you the ultimate frustration of unfinished projects. Planning for the long term will aid in your organization. You can create a year-by-year schedule that maps out a time frame in which to achieve your big goals. Obviously, the schedule can change as time goes by, you learn new methods and you rethink your objectives, but maintaining focus on what you hope to create in the long term can keep you motivated on what you are doing now.

Tool Tutorial





You have a plan! You have knowledge! Do you have tools? Chances are you may be able to obtain most tools at your local lawn and garden store. Bring the list that you assembled in Gardening 101, and, if you are a seasoned gardener, assume that the same pests and plagues will be back that you dealt with last year and buy your supplies now. If you are new to the gardening scene, buy the basic tools that you will need, and then nose around the neighborhood and perhaps your local gardening club to see what is recommended for what you are planting and where you live.

Basic Tools:

• Diggers - You will need a spading fork for aerating your soil and turning your compost pile. Look for a spading fork with rectangular, flat blades. A manure fork may also be compost-pile friendly when it comes to turning.






• Weeders - Weeding tools include hoes and short-handled cultivating tools. Both are made in a variety of styles, and you will probably want more than one of each.






• Hoe











• hoe types include:






• Swan-neck hoe - The curved neck positions the cutting blade to skim just below the surface, making it ideal for light work around garden crops.






• Oscillating hoe - Also called a scuffle hoe or hula, it has a hinged, double-edged blade that barely disturbs the soil surface, minimizing the number of new weeds brought to the surface.






• Collinear hoe - Designed by Eliot Coleman, the narrow blade and angled handle are useful for cutting off small weeds with little soil disturbance.






• Eye hoe - Also called a grub hoe, the heavy blade is for hard chopping at tough, overgrown weeds.

Standard short-handled cultivating tools:

• Hand cultivator - A tined tool, useful for disturbing the soil surface around close planting to uproot young weeds.






• Dandelion weeder - Made for uprooting weeds with long taproots.






• Pavement weeder - A trowel for removing weeds in cracks of stone slab or brick walkways.






• Pruners - Pruning trees and shrubs promotes growth and good health, and pruning out diseased wood helps to control disease problems. Pruning tools come in varying sizes depending on your need. Choose a sharp, high quality pruning tool.






• Tillers - Tillers will also range in size, depending on the job. There are large, gaspowered tillers for breaking ground or big jobs, and small tillers that are lightweight and are useful for cultivating around perennials. Rent a few tillers to try them out before buying, as they do differ a great deal and can be expensive.






• Sowers - Wheeled seeding tools that have changeable interior disks for different seed sizes and spacings are available and very handy if you are planting large areas.






• Comfort tools - There is a plethora of comfort- oriented garden accessories available on the market today. Products range from gloves, to knee pads, to small, wheeled benches/carts. It is up to you to decide what will suit your needs, if you need any at all..

Starting From Seed





Starting your plants from seed will ensure that they are chemical free. Most transplants sold in garden centers have been treated with chemical fertilizers or pesticides. Seeds themselves bought at garden centers may be coated in fungicides, so be very careful about what you buy or buy from an organic seed supplier. To start plants from seed, you need sterile soil, sterile planting containers, and labels. It is better to grow each seedling in a separate container to avoid the damage incurred by ripping roots apart, and to make for a less shocking transplant. If you purchase soil mix, be sure that it is sterile to avoid spreading disease to your seedlings.

To make your own mix, use vermiculite (a mica-based mineral that has been heated to make it expand to many times its original size), perlite (volcanic ash that has been heated and 'popped'), and sphagnum (moss that has been collected while still alive, dried, and then finely ground). Add 1 tablespoon of lime for each 2 quarts of sphagnum that you use to counteract its acidity. Good recipes for soil mix are 1 part sphagnum and 1 part vermiculite, or 1 part each sphagnum, vermiculite and perlite. Seeds actually need heat, not light, to germinate. The heat from a grow light or sunny window may be enough for some, but placing the containers on top of a warm refrigerator or on a seed-starting heating pad may be necessary.

Keep your seeds moist by planting them in moist mix and covering them with plastic wrap. As soon as you see the first sign of life, remove the wrap and place them someplace where they will receive 8-10 hours of sunlight per day.

Water them care fully with a spray mister, careful not to knock the seedlings over or wash away the soil. Before you transplant your seedlings outdoors, they need to be acclimated to the different climate. Bring them outside and place them in a sheltered, somewhat shady spot for a few hours each day, gradually increasing their exposure to the elements over a week or two. Plants have a hardiness zone, an area based on the average annual low temperatures where a plant is most likely to withstand the region's annual low temperature http://www.usna.usda.gov/Hardzone/ushzmap.html. The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has produced a map that breaks the U.S. into 11 zones. Growing plants that are outside your hardiness zone is not impossible, but they will need special attention. When deciding what to plant, consult a hardiness zone map to come up with plants that are most likely to thrive in your zone (see map).

Garden Design





Switching to chemical-free gardening will not only mean changing your gardening practices, but also your gardening design. Gardening in beds, as opposed to rows, provides for better weed, disease and pest management. Beds are also more attractive and easier to maintain. In a garden bed, everything is planted within arm's reach. The leaves of adjacent plants shade the soil, reducing weed growth. Diversity in a garden bed also has many advantages. A variety of plants in a mixed bed provide some natural pest protection by making it difficult for pests to find and eat their target plants, or helping to attract insects that are beneficial to your garden and prey on pest insects. It also reduces the chances that pests and disease organisms will build to epidemic levels, as they won't be able to hop from tasty host to tasty host, as they would if you had planted in rows. Your soil will also reap the benefits of your diverse planting techniques. A good example is planting nitrogen-gobbling corn with nitrogen-giving beans. Pairing up particular plants or planting in variety can help the soil maintain its nutrient balance, ensuring happier plants and a better crop yield. In fact, this technique even has a name - companion planting.

Companion Planting:

Much of the science of companion planting is figuring out what works for you. Many books can give you guidelines about what plants work well together. Some plants are attractants, some repellents, some can be inter-planted with your crops and flowers, and some compete too vigorously and should be planted in separate borders or hedgerows. For example, sunflowers are a good border plant, attracting lacewings and parasitic wasps; radishes are good to inter-plant because they repel the striped cucumber beetle; and marigolds are good to both use as a border and inter-plant, as they attract hover flies and repel root nematodes, Mexican bean beetles, aphids, and Colorado potato beetles. It can be confusing, and not all plants work well together. Your best bet is to start simple, determine what pests you encounter, and work from there, altering the plants in your garden bed as needed from year to year. Often, a mixture of flowers, vegetables and herbs work well together in a single bed.

For a good guide to the basics of companion planting, consult Rodale's Successful Organic Gardening: Companion Planting. Making your bed. Making your bed can be as simple as marking off 3-by-5-foot sections of garden with pathways left between them. However, to optimize the advantages of planting in garden beds, raise your beds. Raised beds provide lighter, deeper, more nutrient-rich, water absorbent soil. Raised beds, however, must be regarded as permanent in order to maintain their splendor. They cannot be walked on or broken down at the end of the season. You can build sides on your bed with bricks, rocks, or cedar 2-by-4 or 2-by-six planks to maintain the shape instead of raking and reshaping the bed every year.

Stay away from pressure-treated wood, as it is treated with wood preservatives that are harmful to you and the environment. How do you achieve raised beds? With double-digging, of course! (This is also known as hard work.)

Double-digging raised beds.





1. Dig out the top one-foot of soil along one end of the bed. Keep the soil in a wheelbarrow or on a groundcloth.





2. Loosen the exposed subsoil by thrusting in a spading fork and twisting its tines back and forth. For extra benefit, add a small amount of organic matter and work it in as you loosen that subsoil.





3. Once the subsoil is loosened, move over and begin removing the topsoil from the next strip of garden bed. This time, instead of keeping the topsoil that you are removing, shovel it over the subsoil to which you have just added the organic matter. You can add a little more organic matter to the topsoil as you shovel.





4. Repeat step 3.





5. When you have reached the last row of your garden bed, use the reserved topsoil to cover the last area of exposed subsoil.





6. Plant!

Composting





Compost is a great fertilizer and can aid in pest prevention. Compost is created when microorganisms, earthworms and nematodes consume and breakdown organic matter into simpler compounds. This process happens more quickly in an active compost pile because these microorganisms have the required heat, air and moisture, and a diverse supply of raw materials to digest. An active pile requires turning every week to add oxygen and keep the decomposition rate high; a passive pile is a pile of organic matter left to decay over time - usually in one to two years. Whichever method of composting you choose, the first step is making a compost pile. You can layer the materials in a heap, set up a heavy chicken wire frame (this works well for a passive pile), build wooden or concrete-block bins, or buy a commercially made bin to hold your pile.

Some commercial bins have built in rotating turners that will make your job much easier. The ideal size for an active compost pile is 4 feet by 4 feet, though size can vary. Choose a location that is shady and well drained for your pile. Clear away any surface cover at the site, loosen the soil with a spading fork, and put down a layer of wood chips or brush as a base. You can toss in garden or kitchen wastes, grass clippings, newspaper, manure, and sawdust. Avoid adding kitchen waste that is heavy in oil and meat products. Shredded materials make better compost more quickly. Try to alternate layers of plant material (chopped leaves or straw) with nitrogen-rich materials (kitchen scraps with manure and blood meal). Keep your pile moist, at a similar level to a squeezed-out sponge, and keep open piles covered with a tarp or heavy canvas so that they won't become waterlogged in the rain. If your pile becomes too dry, add water with kelp extract to moisten it and stimulate biotic activity.

Turn your active pile regularly, mixing and loosening the materials with a spading fork, to prevent overheating and keep microorganisms happy and active. Ideal active compost temperature should be within 140° to 150°, or at slightly higher temperatures if you are composting diseased plant material, around 160°. Your organic compost pile will yield rich humus that will be an ideal fertilizer to your garden. It will save you the money of buying commercial, synthetic fertilizers, many of which have shown to contain toxic waste. Healthy soil makes for hardy plants. Planning your garden can be the most important thing you do this growing season. With a solid plan in place and established

goals, you can minimize your pest problems and potential frustration, and maximize your growing season, and your garden's beauty. All this while saving on your grocery bill and increasing the quality of food you ingest by leaps and bounds. By planting an organic garden you will also be reducing your carbon footprint via producing some of your food (requiring no transportation or storage at the grocery store or packaging) thus contributing to our culture's sustainability in general. Check out Thrifty & Green for more articles on how you can save money and live green.

Suppliers:





* Seeds of Change, 888-762-7333, seedsofchange.com





* Gardener's Supply Company, 128 Intervale Road, Burlington, VT 05401, 888-833-1412, (fax) 800-551-6712, gardeners.com





* Harmony Farm Supply and Nursery, 3244 Highway 116 North, Sebastopol, CA 95472, 707-823-9125, harmonyfarm.com





* Peaceful Valley Farm Supply, P.O. Box 2209, Grass Valley, CA 95949, 888-784-1722, groworganic.com





* Gardeners Alive, 5100 Schenley Place, Lawrenceburg, IN 47025, 812-537-8650, gardensalive.com

Resources:





* Bradley, Fern M., ed. Chemical-Free Yard & Garden, Eamus: Rodale, 1991.





* Troshynski-Thomas, Karen, The Handy Garden Answer Book, Detroit: Visible Ink, 1999.

Guide Your Guests To Your Accommodation Step By Step

Here is another simple way to receive more direct bookings on your website. This simple method has to do with the transportation process to reach your accommodation from a specific location. As you know, guests love clean rooms, delicious breakfast and useful amenities; however, what they love most is a very kind and supportive staff.

The staff have the ability and power to shift guests. They can make guests smile and make them feel very comfortable while they stay in their accommodation. Being aware of the fact that the staff of an accommodation have the energy and creativity to add that indescribable emotional feeling to their guests, would it not be awesome to use this preferred way even before the guests stay in your accommodation? Imagine how potential new guests would no longer hesitate to make a booking in your accommodation, instead just doing it without even thinking about it.

One effective way to reach this income is through a video of you. In this video you explain step by step how to reach your accommodation business from a specific location (eg from the airport / main station / bus station / highway). Through this video your audience gets to know you. They see you in person, they see your personality, your character, your gestures, and so much more. They realize that providing service to your guests even before they are standing in front of you is very important to you. The video that explains the transportation process step by step is much more than just a video that tells your potential new guests how to reach your accommodation. Your potential new guests actually absorb you, your brand, your accommodation and your services. Your audience is automatically and instantly creating an image of you and your business. When your guests arrive at your accommodation and watched this video, they will know you already. At the reception they will recognize you and sometimes tell you that they watched your video. So, you are not a stranger to them and your accommodation is not unfamiliar to them either.

A short video on how to reach your accommodation has a massive impact on your potential new guests. At the beginning it does not look like something special or something that moves the needle, but if you look behind the scenes and go a little bit deeper you realize how much potential this video really has. People want to be a part of great energy and they want to experience awesome locations and hosts.

Therefore, I challenge you to shoot a video within one week.

Don't Be Duped By A Mango

I live in the north, and it's very clear to me that mangoes are not from around here. You can tell just by looking at them. The trees in these parts don't produce things that large. So when we buy mangoes in the grocery store, we're not likely to know if they're ripe and we don't really know how to treat them when we get them home.

If you've ever been in an area where mangoes grow, you know the best way to choose a mango is to find a ripe one hanging on a tree--not a likely sight at our local grocery store. Mangoes happen to be one of those fruits that does not tolerate early harvesting and long-distance shipping well.

There are two main types, large reddish green ones (up to eight inches long), and small yellow ones (three or four inches in length). Mangoes are quite soft when ripe, even softer than a ripe avocado. If they were picked green they will often turn brown inside instead of ripening, and in this case they have a very unpleasant taste. There's nothing to do when this happens except toss them into your compost pile.

When you're purchasing mangoes, it's a challenge to know what's going on under the skin but here's a tip that will help; dark spots or blemishes almost always indicate internal problems for a mango, whereas they will have a pleasant and fragrant aroma if they have ripened correctly.

If you purchased mangoes that are not soft enough to be ripe, and are not emanating a noticeably pleasant odor, put them in a brown paper bag with a couple of semi-ripe bananas. Bananas give off ethylene gas as they ripen, which is a gas used to ripen fruit in commercial packing plants. Ripe mangoes are such a taste-treat; it's certainly worth the effort to try ripening them. But the unfortunate reality is that mangoes picked too soon will never ripen correctly, so if you bought them green you always run that risk.

If you do happen to purchase completely green mangoes, I would recommend using those in your cooking rather than trying to ripen them. They will have a tart pleasant taste. You can dice them and mix them in with rice and vegetables, add them to soups, put them in a fruit salad or blend them to serve as a relish with meat.

Be sure at some point in your life, to eat a fresh ripe mango straight from the tree. There is nothing in the world that tastes so exquisite.

8 Tips For Self-Employed Taxpayers

Bookkeeping Software





When you are self-employed it can be easy to lose track of all your bills, invoices, checks, and receipts amongst your other business related documents. To keep on track with your bookkeeping I would suggest trying bookkeeping software like QuickBooks.

Keep Good Records





In addition to investing in bookkeeping software, you will also need to keep all of your receipts and other tax-related documents together. If you do not already have one, purchase a filing cabinet and designate certain folders for tax receipts and papers so you can stay prepared.

Business Expenses





Remember while you are making your day-to-day purchases to keep any business-related receipts. These expenses are tax deductible, and even the small meetings with colleagues at coffee shops add up! Also, taking the time to add up these receipts once or twice a month will save you a lot of time later on.

Home Office Deduction





If you have a home office in your house or apartment, you may qualify for a home office deduction. As long as you have no other stationary place where you do business and the office is used exclusively and on a regular basis for business, you should qualify.

Check in with the IRS





From time to time, check in with the IRS website to make sure you're taking advantage of all the self-employed tax breaks you can. Also, check the guidelines and rules and make sure you're doing everything correctly and legally. Having a financial advisor should be enough, but doing some of your own investigating never hurts.

Child Care





You can deduct childcare costs for your children, as you are self-employed and may need some help. This is an important deduction that too many self employed individuals miss out on, so make sure you take advantage of it if need be!

Retirement Plans





Setting up a retirement plan is not only good tax-wise, but also a great idea for saving towards your future. The SEP IRA retirement plan is designed especially for the self-employed, and taking advantage of these special programs can be very beneficial both now and later!

Defer Income





Depending on your situation, income deferral may or may not be advantageous for you. If you have made a lot of revenue already this year and expect slower business next year, it may be a great idea. On the other hand, if you expect next year's revenue to be fairly similar then there may not be any reason to defer any income.

Good Online Business Ideas Can Lead You To Success

You may have thought long and hard about good online business ideas and you may have to begin conducting some simple searches to find the right opportunities. There are some wonderful opportunities out there that will provide you with all of the materials you need to get started and find success.

The best online business ideas are ones that have been around for some time and ones that other people have found success with. Instead of scrutinizing each opportunity, you may want to look for outside resources that show you how others have benefited from this business and this can help you to make a decision. If a particular business has many negative posts, you may want to look for an opportunity that has more positive reviews.

You should also consider what you will be getting when you sign up. You want to have as many leads as possible and also a great team to help you if you are in a situation where you are having problems. It can be very difficult to get started in the beginning and you need as many tools as possible on your side.

There are some good online business ideas out there and your job is to find them and tear them apart to see if they are both legitimate and also ones that have been productive for others. An online business can give you a tremendous amount of freedom and flexibility and this may be something that you do not have with your current job.